Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Makes New $91.16 Million Investment in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Ohio’s public employees’ retirement system acquired 436,106 Morgan Stanley shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $91.16 million. Institutional investors collectively own 84.19% of the company.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with adjusted EPS of $3.46 and revenue of $21.35 billion, surpassing estimates; revenue rose 27.1% year over year and return on equity reached 19.31%.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $224.75 price target. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share and authorized a $20 billion share-repurchase program.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 436,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $91,164,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 69.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,263,000 after buying an additional 3,661 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 90.9% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,378,000 after acquiring an additional 7,688 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.3% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,127,000 after acquiring an additional 15,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.8% during the second quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,805,000 after acquiring an additional 3,807 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Morgan Stanley from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $224.75.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Morgan Stanley from “Hold” to “Strong Buy.” The upgrade provides a near-term sentiment boost and reflects confidence in the firm’s earnings trajectory and valuation. Zacks Morgan Stanley upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analysis highlighted Morgan Stanley’s strong first-half 2026 performance. Investors are responding to growth across the business, improving diversification, a recovery in investment banking, and a solid capital position. These factors support expectations for sustained earnings growth. Morgan Stanley first-half 2026 results analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s latest reported quarter showed adjusted earnings of $3.46 per share and revenue of $21.35 billion, exceeding consensus estimates. Revenue increased 27.1% year over year, while return on equity reached 19.31%, reinforcing the bullish fundamental backdrop.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent Morgan Stanley research notes on other companies—including insurance, technology, energy and consumer stocks—may increase the firm’s research visibility, but they are not expected to materially affect Morgan Stanley’s own earnings in the near term. Morgan Stanley insurance stock recommendations

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of MS opened at $215.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. The company has a market cap of $339.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $145.65 and a twelve month high of $232.25. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $216.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.18.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company's chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm's primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source